Men's Tennis

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 17 Florida scored a big win on Friday night, taking down No. 7 Ole Miss 4-1 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. With the win, the Gators improved to 11-8 overall and 5-4 in the Southeastern Conference.

Florida took advantage early against Ole Miss (13-6, 6-4 SEC), storming out in doubles to take a 1-0 lead. Florent Diep and Gordon Watson paired up for the first time this season and beat the Rebels’ William Kallberg and Zach Wilder 8-3 at No. 3 doubles. Stephane Piro and Bob van Overbeek then clinched the doubles point with an 8-4 win against No. 67 Stefan Lindmark and Johan Backstrom.

The Gators were able to carry momentum over into singles play, taking the first set on three courts. On court three, van Overbeek stormed out against Lindmark, breezing to a 6-0, 6-1 victory. Watson then defeated Wilder in consecutive sets, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 6 singles to give Florida a 3-0 lead in the match.

Ole Miss got on the board with a win on court four as Backstrom beat Mike Alford, but Florida had bounced back on the remaining three courts to force a third set in each match. Diep pulled out the clinching victory, beating No. 84 Kallberg 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to secure the team victory.